The Series
The history of African Americans is extremely inspirational! The struggles that have been overcome can inspire everyone to want to reach higher and go further in their personal development.
I was a little surprised when my wife and I shopped around in the major bookstores for children's books for my son's library. I found that there was not a very large scope of children's books available that educates them to the broad spectrum of information about the ancestors of the African Americans who have paved the way for us to be able to enjoy the many freedoms and liberties we enjoy today.
Additionally, there is a relatively narrow field of offerings that are available that attempt to enlighten our youth to just how incredibly strong & determined the African American ancestors were while they had to overcome the unbelievable obstacles they faced as they were being denied many simple and basic human rights when they first arrived to the shores in the Americas.
The children are our future and what we teach them is of the utmost importance!
Our schools curriculum should be supplemented so that certain books and types of information are readily available for study and reading by all children so that they will have a better chance to more fully understand the rich history of the African Americans who played such a critical role in the development of the United States of America.
A major objective of this series is to illustrate valuable, but lesser-known and little talked about information of the ancestors of African Americans. These topics are too often:
- not taught,
- left out,
- or just plain forgotten about
Another important goal is to add a counter-balance to the common misconception that the African American ancestors were just "soulless, empty vessels" who were sort of invisible people while they worked on the cotton plantations. Or that they were otherwise somewhat adapted, or adjusted to their miserable life as a slave without human rights.
The series points out that not only were the African American ancestors multi-faceted human beings, BUT also, that they had a human history! They fought extremely hard to regain their human rights from the very beginning against extremely unbelievable odds. And against a cruel and harsh system that was intent upon suppressing them during that time in history to deny them even the most basic of human and civil rights.
But, in-the-end, it is about how African American ancestors never gave up!
The picture books are presented in a non-textbook style, and written on a level that young children will enjoy reading and can easily understand while they are learning lots of new and fundamental information about the ancestors of the African Americans and American History.
The ancestors of the African Americans were a very resilient people... their story should be a well-taught chapter in our study of the overall study of American history.
There are many valuable lessons that all children can learn from the struggles of the African American ancestors that relate directly to many of the basic human traits that define many highly successful people in our world today.
Traits like:
- Perseverance
- Courage
- Determination
- Bravery
- Overcoming extreme adversity
A Few Words About A Healthy Self-Esteem In Children
Patterns of self-esteem start very early in life. A healthy self-esteem is a child's armor against the challenges of the world. Kids who feel good about themselves seem to have an easier time handling conflicts and resisting negative pressures. They tend to smile more readily and enjoy life. These kids are generally optimistic and realistic.
In contrast, kids with low self-esteem can find challenges to be sources of major anxiety and frustration. Those who think poorly of themselves have a hard time finding solutions to problems. Faced with a new challenge, their immediate response is "I can't."
What Is SELF-ESTEEM?
Self-esteem is the collection of beliefs or feelings we have about ourselves, our "self-perceptions." This starts early in life. This is why helping kids form positive, healthy self-perceptions is very important in their development.
In conclusion,
Somewhere along the way, we have lost our collective mind-sets to continue instilling the many positive self-images and stories about the ancestors of the African-Americans. Without teaching all of those full and rich stories of the African American ancestors to the children, we leave them vulnerable to the many negative pressures and influences that they will face as they grow older.
All the Best,
L.E. Chavous
E-O-T-O... "because Each One will have to Teach One"
